Since my last post, a bit has happened regarding the Sanderling lot. Here is an update.
The maiden voyage of the cistern trailer went very well. It pulls behind the truck better than the aluminum trailer. I have not yet used it for hauling the cistern or honey wagon tanks, but below is a photo of it loaded with slash wood to be taken to the fire pit.
New trailer loaded with burn pit wood
I have decided to add stake bed sides and a motorcycle wheel chock to make the trailer more of an all-purpose utility platform.
I did get my generator fixed (about $70.00) and I took it to The Lot this past weekend. It now runs just like new, and I was able to use it to power the honey wagon pump and empty The Box’s holding tanks. (I put the honey wagon tank in the back of the truck.) This means we no longer have to pull The Box over to the nearest dump station, the goal we were hoping for when we embarked on this project. Below is a photo (Pam says it is gross) of the honey wagon system in use:
Honey wagon kit working as advertised
I still need to work on getting the cistern tank and associated systems functioning, but that is a lower priority as I can still pump water by hand when needed. Still, the cistern project is progressing — I received some fittings I needed and ordered on-line and fitted them to (and tested) my pump. Not a lot of progress, but some.
This is the second trip to The Lot with some of my landscaping blocks in the truck. The blocks have been put in a few spots along The Lot’s driveway, a lot of work considering I have to dig out dirt and gravel to get the blocks in place. So far, 132 in, 32 more still to transport and place. The blocks look like this:
Landscape blocks in place – upper drive
Landscape blocks along lower drive
We relocated the front half of the dog run in order to make way for another project, a car port. This is prep work; the car port itself will probably not get installed until next spring but could happen sooner. We had to remove quite a few trees, mostly very small aspen, to make a 12 foot by 24 foot opening along the driveway. Now we will have to level it off and get some gravel down before the port can be assembled. It is nice to have an off-driveway parking spot for the trailer; we were getting tired of having to maneuver around it when going to or from The Box.
Car port will be the newly cleared area left of trailer
I had one disagreeable task; the last time I was up alone the furnace kicked on and a bad smell came out of it—burned mouse hair. This trip I had to remove a grill, plus the front cover of the furnace burner, and scrape out the charred remains of a mouse that had – somehow – found its way into the furnace and died. Ba-a-a-a-d smell, and it took me a while to scrape the remains off the furnace burner. I did not turn the furnace on this trip; it was warm enough at night not to need it, but on my next solo trip I will turn the furnace on with the windows open and see how good a job I did. No photos of this particular task… 🙂
There was much to get done this past weekend, and we actually accomplished everything! Dog pen reconfigured, car port preparations started, landscape blocks placed, and holding tanks emptied. I have some trees to cut into firewood next trip, and a load of stuff to take to the burn pit. The generator runs like a champ. We returned home very tired but very pleased with what was accomplished. Now if we could just keep the mice out of The Box….
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
These darned mice. Mother Nature laughs at the family, with over a dozen domesticated + feral cats, that has mice in their RV.
I was pleased this weekend; my ailing hip allowed me some measure of mobility around the property. Still not 100%, but health improvement.
Happy Trails.
A belated “Happy Birthday” from someone adding a year a day later. I remember looking forward to my 18th, then 21st birthdays — now, not-so-much!
Success with both the trailer and “honey wagon”. Now, to set things up so you’re not constantly loading/unloading cistern, etc, not to mention a permanent mouse solution.
Bursitis — once the inflammation begins to reduce, it seems to happen “relatively” quickly. Unfortunately, the healing process takes longer & longer as we get older.
My “elbow bursitis” took about 3 months from onset to full reduction — a lot less pain than in the hip area (just a lot of “cover up”).
wow, that does sound productive! good job kids! lol–i had to laugh through several parts–and grimace in disgust! Pam–it’s a good thing you have Jer to do those ucky jobs!
I too thought of the irony that the cat rescue crew has a mouse problem!
We have camping friends that have a ‘poop wagon’ for hauling their ‘honey’. It’s like a kids red rider only covered and not for kids at all.
Ick. But gets the job done!
Anyhow–glad you got so much accomplished! I’m still waiting for one weekend that you guys just kick back and relax! (okay-maybe too much to ask… a day?? an afteroon/evening??)